Why are most lights BLACK!!

Why do they make most lights just in black.. Why don't they offer something a little different.

Sincerely getting tiered of black lol

Here's a similarly-minded thread from about 2 years ago:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Please-post-some-colour!-Dual-Pourpose-thread!

Most flashlights are just about any color the maker chooses. ARC has GI green, red. Fenix has polished titanium, flat black, I have one Mag light 2 d cell in bright red and one in black. Ever-ready 2 d cell lights have chrome finish. Black is most likely the easiest color and least expensive to coat lights bodies. Do a search for specific flashlight colors available to see whats being sold.

I think it's partly marketing. Black feels "tactical" so is a selling point. People expect good lights to be black.

There may also be a technical reason: My recollection was that cheap Type II anodizing is available in multiple colors. But more durable HA III hard anodizing found on non-budget lights is usually only available in black, grey or natural.

I think it is just because it is a neutral color and appeals to the largest number of people/customers.

Mag can be bought in 6 different colors yet black is the best seller.
Used to be you could only find lights in the color of the body.

Then the cop light was invented. They were black. Ever since black has evoked images of a more sturdy light, than say...green, blue or purple.

That's the 'masses' favorite.
The better weapon mounted light is black to match the weapon is attached to.

I would love to see some lights iin grey or od green etc

Fireclaw18 said:

HA III hard anodizing found on non-budget lights is usually only available in black, grey or natural.

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Yes, this is what I understand as well. HA III anodizing is what most people want because its the most durable, but chemically it can only be done in black, gray, or natural (undyed).

Doesn't mean there aren't some good colorful lights though. Most of them are still anodized, like Maglite, Convoy's popular S2+ line, dozens of small "keychain" lights like the Olight I3s line, etc. A few manufacturers have offered Cerakoted lights in many colors as well, so there are other options.

Generally I'm with you though. I wish more lights were available in different colors. I get bored with black as well.

Fireclaw18 said:

... But more durable HA III hard anodizing found on non-budget lights is usually only available in black, grey or natural.

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emarkd said:

Yes, this is what I understand as well. HA II anodizing is what most people want because its the most durable, but chemically it can only be done in black, gray, or natural (undyed).

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Natural HA III is gray. You can only dye it darker. That's why you only see gray (natural) and black.

Black is bad a_s! IMO.( But as others have stated,It IS probably a metallurgy reason). But come on, black is SERIOUS!

It is kinda like a hammer. So long as the color isn't something goofy I really don't think about it. Just keep pounding those nails. That said I perfer OD/CB over black which are about the worst colors for a small gear item. I remember a camo D10 some years ago. The EX10/D10 were nice but wow a camo light is just asking for it. M@g also had camo. No thanks but would like crazy orange. Interesting enough black objects on the ground contrast better than one might expect. Not sure why?

I have this idea of sending one of my Surefire 6Ps for a bit of cerakote. Black is nice and all but yes, no reason why it cannot be made to look better.

Woods Walker said:

It is kinda like a hammer. So long as the color isn't something goofy I really don't think about it. Just keep pounding those nails. That said I perfer OD/CB over black which are about the worst colors for a small gear item. I remember a camo D10 some years ago. The EX10/D10 were nice but wow a camo light is just asking for it. M@g also had camo. No thanks but would like crazy orange. Interesting enough black objects on the ground contrast better than one might expect. Not sure why?

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My wife won't use a brass head tac hammer. Says she misses the tac too often due to the color. She uses a small black head 'peen' hammer. I kept buying her brass hammers for her metalargy projects and such but she kept using a ball peen from the garage...so of course when I needed that hammer it was never where it belonged. One day I asked her why...and so it's been steel head hammers ever since.

Mother Nature squashed all the colors into one creating black so when we drop our black flashlight it will contrast with every other color...unless we drop it into a dark cave, a coal mine or in a solidified tar pool.

That is why flashlights are black. Because Mother Nature did not intend for us to go into dark caves, coal mines and solidified tar pools.

Btw WW, my camo Mags have wrist lanyards for the reason you cite. Drop that sucker in the woods?

black lights matter

From a practical point of view.....darker colors dissipate heat better.

Realistically, black is probably the easiest color to consistently replicate especially with warranty parts and such...

Lex Icon said:

From a practical point of view.....darker colors dissipate heat better.

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They do? How so?

Lex Icon said:

From a practical point of view.....darker colors dissipate heat better.

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I think that would be the primary reason. Lights do generate heat, black color dissipates it best.

The Wikipedia article on this subject has some information/discussion about that. I only repeat some links below. For the complete discussion you can look at the article.

Heat Sink Color

From http://www.radianheatsinks.com/support/faqs.html

How does the color of a heat sink impact its thermal performance?
In natural convection a black or dark colored heatsink will perform 3% to 8% better than an aluminum heatsink in its natural silverish color. This is due to the fact that dark colors radiate heat more efficiently.

In forced air applications, surface color does not increase a heat sink's performance due to the increase in convection. The color would provide cosmetic benefits only.

From http://www.globalwinusa.com/faqs/heatsink/color.html

Does heatsink color affect heat dissipation?

Black is the best thermal body in terms of being a absorber or emitter. Let's assume a vacuum situation, if the surface "A" of a black heatsink is totally covered at T1 (temperature 1) by another black body at T2 (temperature 2), the black heatsink would get the energy reflected from another black body at reflection energy Ad(T14-T24) that we call "Stefan-Boltzmann" law of thermal radiation, here refers to Stefan Boltzmann Constant, it is 5.6697 x 10-8 W/m2?K4. Therefore if based on above, T1 is the temperature obtained from the black heatsink onto CPU, T2 is the ambient temperature around CPU. So if T14-T24 is a positive value, we know black is the best heat dissipation transistor since there is no thermal source around CPU inside PC case.

From http://www.bcae1.com/heatsink.htm

Do not paint a heat sink. Most heat sinks are anodized aluminum. Painting a heat sink (especially if it's a thick coat of paint) is like putting a blanket on the amplifier. If you absolutely must paint the heat sink, use the lightest, thinnest coat of paint possible.